Doesn't have a title yet but I'm open to suggestions
by PardonMyVulcan
Summary: Includes ST09 and STID characters, with a few made up ones. Enjoy! LLAP.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Bella_

"Okaaaay!" drawled the Captain, spinning in his chair. We were 2 years into our 5 year mission in space, the longest one yet. Quite frankly, we were running out of places to go. "Our next stop… Ireland! Which is on Earth, for those of you who don't know." he announced. I raised my eyebrows. We had only been to Earth last week. "Captain, I must object." I heard Spock say from behind me. "We have already covered that part of the galaxy. It is not logical to return there just yet." Kirk waved him away. "We have a new crew member," he said, looking at me. "He's just graduated from Starfleet. And please do not ask why _we _have to go and collect him. Lieutenant Isabella, you'll have to show him around. After all, he's taking your job," he smirked. I stopped dead. "Sorry, Captain, I do not understand," I stammered. But he had stopped listening, instead he was asking Sulu to set the course for Earth. I lunged for Spock. "Wh- what did he mean? Am I getting f-" But the look on Spock's face stopped me short. It was a mixture between regret, sadness, and a slipping mask of emotionlessness. "It's been…_ great_... working with you, Bella," he said softly, unsure of his words. Then he turned away quickly and began aimlessly pressing buttons on one of the blinking monitors.

I waited nervously in the transporting room, while Scotty angrily tried to lock onto this Irish newbie. "He keeps jigglin' up and down and it's mighty annoyin'" he grumbled. "An' he won't answer his communicator! I don't even think he knows how to use it," I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing. It was going to take a while to train this one. Suddenly Scotty yelled, "Finally!" and a blonde guy slowly faded into view. He stood awkwardly, his pale blue eyes darting amazedly around the room. His Starfleet uniform was slightly askew, and his hair was ruffled. "Sorry, sorry," he gabbled. "I-uh, well, it's uh, lovely to be on the _Enterprise, _I must say. I'm Avery Greyson."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Avery_

The first thing I saw when I boarded the _Enterprise _was her. Actually, that was a lie. The first thing I saw was the yellow shiny things engulfing me that must've been a transporter. But the next thing I saw was her. She was standing there, nervously. She was wearing a red shirt, which I think meant she was Captain. Captain Kirk. I didn't know she would be that… beautiful. S_he has blue eyes, like me, _I thought to myself. There was another man, standing next to a panel covered in buttons. He looked at me expectantly. I stepped clumsily off the transporter podium and hesitantly held out my hand to the girl. "Captain Kirk. It's an honour to finally meet you," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. Captain Kirk looked confused for a moment, and then she laughed, making her blue eyes crinkle with amusement. "I'm not Captain Kirk!" she said, still laughing. "I'm Lieutenant Isabella. It's an honour to finally meet you too," she held out her hand. I high-fived it. She looked taken aback, and then laughed again. I could have listened to that sound for years on end. "Oh, that's Scotty. I'll introduce you to the Captain in a few minutes. And Spock and Rhiannon. You'll like Rhiannon. And… Uhura." She said that last name like it was something unpleasant. I pretended not to hear. "So, I'll take you to the bridge, I guess," she said, and for the first time, I noticed she was as nervous as I am.

She took me to places I've never even dreamed of. And I wasn't being poetic, it was the truth. The _Enterprise _was amazing. She even showed me Khan, who was frozen in a photon missile, along with the rest of his crew. "Do not tell _anyone _I showed you him," she had whispered, typing a code into the side of the missile and making it slide open to reveal his frozen face. Then we heard footsteps and had to run off, giggling like schoolchildren as we hid behind a water plant waiting for Scotty to go past. But now, it was time to meet the Captain. I had been looking forward to this moment for almost my entire life. I walked through the ship, and gazed at the room before me. Buttons, dials and screens blinked at me from every angle. People in red, yellow and blue shirts turned and smiled at me. A massive chair spun around in the middle of the room, and I came face to face with Captain Kirk.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Rhiannon_

Goddammit! Why couldn't people just heal themselves? I guess I was born in the wrong century. And I was starting to sound more like Bones every day. I guess working with him for 18 months was taking its toll. Well, technically I was a science officer, but since I was a just a human and Spock was half Vulcan he seemed to be contented doing all the work himself. Besides, I was 'too emotional' and 'not fast enough' to really keep up with him. Well. I guess he was being logical. Ugh. It would just end up with him stepping to do my share of science officer duties, him being finished his half an hour ago. So I was usually helping Bones down in medical.

But anyway, everyone was talking about this new guy who was coming aboard, from Ireland or something and was meant to be replacing Lt. Isabella. I guess I should be sad for her, but I had only encountered her a few times, and that was to explain science to her because for some unfathomable reason she disregarded it. I tapped into the transporting room's security camera to take a look at her and this kid. I had to admit, he was pretty cute. If I were a Vulcan I would've stopped right there, but I'm not, so I didn't. he had the most _amazing _flippy blonde hair, even though it was a bit messed up. He spoke with an adorable Irish accent. I tried to supress a laugh and failed when he thought Isabella was Captain Kirk. They left the room, and I stood there for a while, dwelling on this new guy. Would I have to explain the joys of science to him as well? I allowed myself to daydream for a bit until someone asked me to give them a hypo. I absent-mindedly stabbed them in the face with it. There was a scream of protest. "Good God, Rhiannon! You're meant to heal people, not remove their facial features!" Bones yelled, coming up behind the patient. "Oh, we gotta go see the Captain. That newbie wants to meet us." he said, bandaging up the patient's face and walking through the double doors.

I smoothed out my blue shirt. Hm. Not too many crinkles, I suppose. I followed Bones and emerged in front of the captain. "Ah. Rhiannon, Bones, this is Avery Greyson. He's… being trained by Lieutenant Isabella for the time being." he said, gesturing to Greyson. I gave him a smile, which quickly turned to a frown as none other than Nyota Uhura pranced in. "Hello! I'm Uhura. You're Avery, right? Its great to meet you." she babbled, fluttering her eyelashes. I noticed that Lieutenant Isabella had the same facial expression I had. God, Uhura was annoying! She thought she was the most amazing, perfect person in the galaxy, and the problem was, she was probably right. Not that she's ever been wrong about anything. I glanced at Spock, who I expected, as always, would have a mask of emotionlessness on his face. But instead his eyes were blazing with fury. I had no idea why. I'd talk to him later while he finishes off my science. But right then, I had a cute Irish trainee to flirt with.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Bella_

It was a few weeks into training Avery that it happened. I guess we were both a little tired, our defences lowered, and probably just plain boredom. For some reason, I had kept my job. Either Avery was really slow to catch on, or, I refused to let myself think this because I was sure it was wrong, he was purposely learning slowly because he heard that I would not lose my job until he was fully trained. I thought the mere prospect of that was ridiculous, until that day. It was nearing the end of our shift. We were recovering from a lengthy lecture on the many uses of dilithium from Science officer Rhiannon, with Spock chiming in at regular intervals. "All I said was that I'd never heard of that element before," Avery complained. "I didn't expect her to do that." I rolled my eyes and laughed. "A bit of advice. Never. Ask. Rhiannon. Anything." I checked my timetable and grinned. "Great. We have 30 minutes of free time. Would you like me to show you any particular part of the _Enterprise?_" Avery nodded, but looked unsure. "Uh, um, I actually find the, um, engineering sector quite interesting. Should we go there?" he asked tentatively. I nodded. "Sure! Let's go." I led the way down some steps and proceeded to engineering. I was getting used to his prescence. When I first got assigned to him, he was shy and didn't say much, so I treated him with formality. But now we seemed like almost friends, putting aside the fact that as soon as he had finished training I would be booted out. We reached engineering, which was mostly empty, except for a couple of people in red shirts taking a coffee break or something. I waited for Avery to finish gazing at all the gadgets. He turned to me. "Uh, do you mind if I go get a drink? I don't know where to-" I cut him off. "We can just go to one of the water plants over there. There's a tap behind one of them," I said, walking towards them. Avery followed. He was struggling to turn on the tap. I tried to do it, but he hadn't moved his hand away, so they touched. A sizzle of electricity shot up my hand. I pulled away. "Oh, s-sorry," he stammered. Suddenly I was overcome with the most powerful urge to kiss him. I could not explain it. It could've been that I hadn't done anything like that in 2 years, the fact that he looked the same way, or a combination of both. I leaned forward awkwardly, and he did the same, so we bumped noses. I gave a nervous giggle. He pulled back. "Um, isn't there, like, a rule against t-" I cut him off with a kiss. He broke away. "Isabella, I can't. I don't want to get you in trouble," he said. "Don't worry," I said, a little to confidently. He raised his eyebrows and smirked, but didn't resist the next time I placed my lips on his. It was the most wonderful feeling, the softness of his lips on mine as we lost track of time.

"Ahem."

Someone cleared their throat and a shadow cast over us. We sprung free, turning around and finding ourselves face to face with Mr Spock.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Avery _

I didn't really know much about Spock, only that he and Rhiannon the science officer were very passionate about dilithium. And that he was so… logical. I guess. Well, that was what he kept saying. "That is illogical, Captain,", "Your calculations seem to be logical," and "Yes, I believe that would be quite logical," were some of the few things I had heard him say. But right then he wasn't saying anything about logic or dilithium. He seemed to intimidate us and hold authority over us without even saying anything. We stood in stunned silence, and I felt Bella - calling her 'Lieutenant Isabella' seemed too odd now - stiffen beside me. It occurred to me that I should break the silence and try to explain myself. "I-I-uh… we were… getting a d-drink and-" I trailed off. Spock looked at us with an unreadable expression. "Rule 352 states that no officer aboard any starship should be engaging in any act of intimacy or romance during shifts and/or missions. Since your wrongdoings fall under both, I shall have to take this matter to the Captain." He said in a calm, even voice, full of authority. I gulped. The corner of Bella's mouth twitched, but she didn't say anything. Spock motioned us to follow him, and he begun to walk towards the Captain's cabin.

"Jim- er, Captain Kirk," Spock said to the Captain, who was sitting in one of three chairs. Spock remained standing behind us. "I am here on this occasion to bring to your attention the breach of protocol that has taken place. The consequence for this is that the persons who have broken the particular rule have to… resign."

I gasped. Bella remained completely composed. "So, which rule did these two youngsters break?" said the Captain, with his usual air of reckless authority.

"Rule 352, Captain, which clearly states that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know the one," the Captain chuckled.

"So, you understand the consequences that these two must face?" Spock asked.

"Yes. But since Greyson is only a trainee, and, well, Lieutenant Isabella is required here to uh, train him, shouldn't we show them some leverage, Mr Spock?"

"Captain, that is illogical. Greyson and Lieutenant Isabella are only needed for each other. For example, Lieutenant Isabella trains Greyson, Greyson is trained by Lieutenant Isabella. If both were to be sent off, there will be no out of the ordinary repercussions." Spock vetoed.

"Okay, okay!" the Captain said, holding his hands up. "But under the, uh, authority I hold as Captain, I hereby give you… a warning."

"A warning, Captain? Does that mean-" Bella spoke, sounding nervous.

"Yes. I'll let it slip this time, but you have been warned, you two. Any more slips and wheeeee,"- he mimed a spaceship crashing- "You're outta here. Understand?"

We both nodded mechanically. "Great. Thank you, Spock. That'll be all," he concluded, and Spock led us out.

"I hope that you understood the Captain?" he asked us, and, after we nodded, he left. I let out a massive sigh of relief and hugged Bella. She pushed me away. "Um! Were you not listening to _anything?" _she said, but she was smiling. "See you round," she said, and retreated to her cabin, leaving me in the hallway, trying to remember what her lips felt like pressed against mine.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Rhiannon _

Pfft! Flirting with a cute trainee my ass! I has suspected that Lieutenant Isabella had become a little chummy with Greyson, but I thought I was just being paranoid, since she _was _meant to be training him and making him feel at home. Or on starship. Whatever. But then I heard that they had been _called to the captain _because they were _kissing. _Ugh!

"Rhiannon. Focus. You've already pH tested that sample." Spock's voice chimed into my thoughts. "Oh. Right. Yes. Sorry." I said, placing another sample into the beaker. I had abandoned Dr McCoy that night, as, surprisingly, my science officer duties were needed. I suddenly stopped working. I could feel eyes boring into the side of my head. Was Spock… staring at me? I could see him out of the corner of my eye, not testing his own samples, but instead watching me, his head tilted slightly, as if surveying my every feature. I spun around, and his eyes immediately flickered back to his beaker. I raised one eyebrow and continued working. "Where are we going tonight?" I asked, to break the silence. "The Captain seemed in an awful hurry,"

"We have been invited to the wedding of T'gia'uto. It's on _the Enterprise's _recreation deck, actually. I believe you, in particular, will find the food… fascinating." he replied. I smiled.

"Are you implying that I will like the food?" I asked him.

"No, I did not say that, I simply stated that you would find it quite interesting. It is not like anything you have on Earth, or on Vulcan, for that matter."

"Then I will be… enjoying it… logically." I said, trying, and failing, to impersonate Spock. A hint of a smile crossed his face. But before I could dwell on the fact that I had _made Spock smile _, a TV screen on the wall of the lab crackled to life. "Science Offeecer Rhiannon, First Offeecer Spock, please proceed to ze recreation deck for ze wedding of T'gia'uto." Chekov's voice rang out. I put my samples down, noted the amount of alkaline in it on a notepad, and followed Spock to the recreation deck.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Bella_

I had never been to a wedding before, let alone one on a spaceship. I walked with Greyson, as always, although we didn't hold hands like we used to. In fact, our relationship- if you could call it that - had cooled down considerably. All that we had before had been masked by barriers of formality and politeness, our previous state had simmered down to no more than acquaintanceship. I took my place at a long table, laden with strange looking foods. Black and purple roses filled the oddly shaped vases that lined the table. The ceremony was relatively fast, but the vows and poems recited evoked emotion in all of us. Except probably Spock. The banquet, however, lasted for ages. Bones and Nurse Chapel and a couple of other people were dancing. I was examining the food on my plate. "What do you think it is?" Greyson asked me.

"I do not know," I replied, poking at it with my fork. I doubt even Science Officer Rhiannon could've derived a better observation. It looked like tomato soup, but tasted like a combination of fried fish and old milk. "It certainly doesn't taste very nice," I said, forcing myself to swallow. I searched the table for something that looked vaguely edible and ended up settling for a strange-looking fruit that resembled a fig. "Wanna go halves?" I asked Greyson. He nodded, and took a half of the fruit. We both ate a piece simultaneously. It was really, really sweet. And it kind of left me… unbalanced. Greyson had the same facial expression as me. I stood up, wobbling slightly. Greyson stood up too, steadying me. The world seemed extremely bright, like someone had turned the colour knob too high on one of those ancient TV's. I staggered, holding the back of my chair to regain my footing. I felt desperate for some sort of romance, the undeniable urge to… well… make out with Greyson. And we were off duty, right? I was quite sure it was acceptable. I took Greyson's hand and led him away from the festivities. He seemed willing to comply.

I darted into what I thought was my cabin, and he followed me. I shut the door. It was dark, but I didn't think it was necessary to turn on the lights. Greyson had guessed what was about to happen, and he did not resist. I trailed my hand up his neck and rested it on his shoulder, hesitantly placing my lips on his and feeling the softness. A hum of pleasure emitted from somewhere inside Greyson- I mean, Avery. I leant against him, and we fell on the bed with a _thunk._ The sound suddenly triggered the cabin's lights to turn on. We broke apart, startled, and looked around the room. The first thing I noticed was that a blue uniform was hanging on the edge of the bed. "Wh-" I started, still looking around. This wasn't my cabin. My shirt was red. And I was wearing it. I spied an open book on the desk, and read the title on the first page aloud. "Physics- more than you've ever dreamed of," I raised my eyebrows. Definitely not my cabin. I continued reading. "This book is the property of S'chn T'gai- Dammit! We're in Spock's cabin!" I exclaimed in alarm. Avery gasped. "What the hell are we going t-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps, and laughter. I heard Spock's voice, talking to someone. We both froze. I rushed to the door. "No!" Avery hissed. "They're about to come in! Just- just-" he fell silent as the door swung open. We flattened ourselves into the farthest corner of the room as Spock walked in unsteadily. There was someone holding his arm, steadying him, although they were staggering themselves. Spock flopped down on the bed, and the person flopped down as well, clutching Spock's hand and giggling. Spock tried to half heartedly swat her hand away, mumbling something about logic as the person walked her fingers up his shoulder. I stifled a gasp. It was… no. it couldn't be. The person pushed their brown hair out of their eyes and I knew without a doubt it was Science Officer Rhiannon.

"Oh, S-Spock, y-you cheeky l-little whatsit," she slurred. I expected Spock to stand up and practically arrest her on the spot, or at least lecture her on logic and emotion, but instead, he _laughed. _They fell backwards onto the bed, and laughing even more, tried to clumsily kiss. "Ish… ish not logical captain…" Spock said, unintelligibly. I had seen enough. Barely trying to mask my utter shock and disbelief, I took Avery's hand and edged quietly around the bed. We needn't have bothered. They didn't notice us in the slightest as we silently slipped out of their room.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Rhiannon_

"Urrrrrghhhhhh…" I groaned, rolling over in my bed. I had the worst headache anyone could imagine, though I couldn't imagine why. I tried to relax, focusing on the even breathing of- wait. I sat bolt upright. A fan of jet- black hair was spread across the pillow. An arm was poking out from under the covers. A blue-uniformed one. "Spock!" I gasped. Spock was in my bed! I sat still for a full minute, stunned. Then I leapt out of the bed. Spock stirred, but did not wake. I backed against the wardrobe. This could not be. It was, above all things, extremely unprofessional. I ran my hand through my messed-up hair. It felt like someone had been doing the same to it. I closed my eyes, and reopened them. Spock was still there. I pinched myself. Spock was still there. I bit back a scream of panic. I would get fired for sure after what happened with Lieutenant Isabella and Greyson. And they were only kissing. What had compelled me to even consider this? And why couldn't I remember what had happened the night before? I stared at Spock's still figure in the bed. "Illogical," I whispered, even though it was not my word to use. What was I meant to do? I couldn't just leave him in my cabin. I walked over to my desk. Hm. There was a physics book there. Spock's book. I glanced at the wardrobe, where Spock's spare uniform hung. I silently sighed in relief. Well, at least I didn't have to engage in any late-night physical activity that involved dragging a sleeping Spock down the corridor and putting him in his bed. I contemplated for a minute, then gave the bed a once-over. The blankets were completely messed up, one pillow on the floor. Spock was sprawled messily across the bedspread, only part of his body covered. I silently straightened the bed sheets, trying hard not to make the slightest noise or movement that would wake him. I picked up the pillow from the floor and tried to stuff it behind his head. I swept the room with a gaze, picked up my communicator that was lying on the floor, stepped out into the corridor.

Thankfully, it was empty, and I slipped into my cabin without any problem. I flopped down onto my bed. I shivered. It had been _freezing _in Spock's cabin. Probably because Vulcans' body temperatures were 5 degrees hotter than humans. Too tired to even remove my uniform, I drew the covers over my head. "Computer, raise room temperature by… 5 degrees," I mumbled sleepily. Immediately it begun to get warmer. I didn't admit it to myself, as I dropped off to sleep, but the reason I had raised the temperature was it felt like there was a Vulcan sleeping next to me. And I liked that feeling.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Avery _

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_. The insistent blare of the alarm bells invaded my sleeping mind like an uninvited guest to a ball. I sat up silently in the bed. Bella's sleeping form stirred, and a few moments later, she too was up. "Good morning," she said blearily. I looked around. "What's happening?" I said, slipping out of the bed. Bella's cabin was much more roomier than my own quarters. Posters of ancient TV show characters were organized schematically on one wall, and the other had a collection of red uniforms, in different positions, some with arms folded, others with the pants legs crossed. It was quite amusing to look at. "Oh, just some sort of emergency alarm. Probably a drill," Bella said sleepily, slowly getting out of bed.

"So, uh, what do we do then?" I asked uncertainly.

"Don't worry. Scotty or someone will switch it off in a sec. Like I said, it's just a dri-" we both froze as we heard the shouts and hurried footsteps coming from the corridor outside. Her eyes grew wide. "Or not," she said softly. Running my hands through my tousled hair, I grabbed one of Bella's red shirts from its hanger and pulled it on over my bare chest. Bella leapt out of bed. She was still in her uniform from last night. Last night. I stopped for a moment, dwelling on all that had happened. But my reverie was shattered by Bella, who grabbed my hand and our communicators and rushed out into the corridor. It was pandemonium. Red, blue and yellow shirted people were rushing in all directions. I clutched Bella's hand. "Where to?" I shouted over the noise. "The bridge," she replied. I nodded curtly and dived into the crowd of oncoming people. A high pitched siren wailed through the corridors. We burst out onto the bridge, where a surprisingly calm Captain Kirk was spinning in his chair. "What's going-" Bella started.

"Klingons. Somehow boarded our ship." he replied. "Don't worry though. There's only about 5. it's just that _someone,_" he looked pointedly at Chekov, who was staring at the controls, "insisted on sounding the alarm." he chuckled.

"But why?" I asked. I didn't even know what Klingons were, let alone why they would invade the _Enterprise. _"Why are they here?"

"Oh. Right. Because I may have accidentally declared war against them when we were looking for Khan. But, they were gonna kill Lt. Uhura, sooo…" he sat back. Bella rolled her eyes and sighed. Suddenly, Chekov's voice rang out from near the controls. "Keptin! Keptin! A whole platoon of zem have just boarded, sir! Zey now outnumber us, sir. By many."

The casual smile fell from Kirk's face. "Get all the red shirts," he ordered. "Send them down. We must not let them win." he said, his voice hard. He looked at us and gestured for us to do the same. Bella's eyes grew wide. "Yes, Captain," she said quietly, clutching my hand in her cold one. She turned and left the bridge, with me in tow. She broke into a run, pulling her phaser out of her belt. I did the same. "Wait," I puffed alongside her. "Do we have to-"

"Yes." she said, her eyes looking ahead of her.

"But I-"

"We're soldiers, Greyson!" she shouted, turning to face me. "That's what we do." Her eyes welled up for a moment. She blinked furiously and swallowed, then turned and kept running.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Bella_

There was chaos all around me, but my head was surprisingly clear. There was the sound of phasers firing and swords clanging against eachother. My mind formed one thought, a command, a rule to function by. _Fight. Win. Don't die. And… protect Greyson. _I rushed at the nearest Klingon, firing shots randomly. Another grabbed me from behind. I screamed and bit down on his hand, then screamed again as I realised he was wearing metal armour. Hands went around my throat. Another one held me down as the room begun to spin. The coldness of a blade pressed against me neck. I searched desperately for Greyson, and saw him coming up behind the Klingon who was about to slit my throat.

_Rhiannon_

I rushed down to the lower deck from medical. Bones had told me to go down and bring up the soldiers who were wounded. It was horrific. Klingons everywhere. _Dammit Jim, I_ thought in Bones's voice in my head._ Why did you have to start a war with them? Good God!_ I glanced around. Spock wasn't there. I sighed in relief, then I immediately stopped mid-sigh. There was Leuitenant Isabella, and she was about to get her throat slit by a Klingon. I didn't know her well, but I had sort of remembered what had happened the night before, and she had, I think, been in Spock's cabin when we were-

The Klingon with the sword drew closer to Bella. I didn't even know why I was even contemplating saving her, when many more of our soldiers had and were about to face a similar fate. _Just go and find some wounded soldiers, and bring them back to Bones. It's simple! Forget about her! _My mind screamed. I shook my head. I had to save her. I didn't know why, but, it seemed that she was the closest I had had to an actual friend. Besides, if she died, who would I explain science to? I pulled out my phaser, set it from stun to kill, and aimed it at the Klingon with the sword. My hand tightened on the trigger, and as it did, Greyson appeared behind him.

_Bella_

The noise of a phaser firing ripped through the air. There was a choked gasp from behind the Klingon with the sword. He stepped to the side slightly, revealing Greyson, his face contorted in pain, crumple to the ground. "NO!" I screamed. The Klingon holding my neck let go, letting me slide to the ground before he and the other one fled. I crawled over to where Greyson lay. His breathing was ragged and there was a scarlet stain, steadily growing on his shirt. I put my ear to his chest. His heartbeat was slowing. I choked back a sob of helplessness. "B-Bella…" he said, barely audibly. I leant closer. "You… know, he… was right," he said, gasping.

"Who was?" I asked.

"This… person I met … at…At Starfleet academy. He said that… red shirts were the worst job… because they… are just here… to die." he said, his voice getting fainter.

A sob escaped my lips. Greyson raised a shaking hand and placed it on my mouth. "Shhh…" he said softly. He gave a shudder. "Bella… I want you to know," he said, his voice barely audible. I had to lean in really close to hear the last part. "I love you, Bella…" he said. He drew a last, shaky breath, and was still.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Bella_

I pushed his hair back and gave him a last kiss. His blue eyes stared up at me, but they no longer saw. The noise of the Klingons killing the red shirts seemed like background noise. I reached out a shaking hand and stroked the deep scarlet of his shirt. _Just here to die, _I thought. And he was. He was just another solider, waiting for his turn to be destroyed. The blood on his shirt was barely visible, blending in horribly. He had a cut on his face. It seemed so out of place on his angelic and peaceful face. I gave a loud sob of defeat, clutching the fabric of his shirt in shaking hands. I buried my face into his chest, wracked with more sadness when the absence of a heartbeat was evident. I heard a choked sob from behind me. I turned around and was shocked to see Science Officer Rhiannon standing there. For some reason, anger boiled up inside me. But the look on her face made me stop dead. She looked so utterly shocked, her eyes wide and red-rimmed, her hand over her mouth. I looked at her for an explanation, and noticed she had a phaser in her other hand. "I didn't… I… I…" she gasped. My mouth dropped open. "I didn't mean to shoot _him… _I was aiming a the-" I leapt up suddenly, jamming my hand onto her throat in a tiger-mouth grab. She gasped in surprise. "Why should you get to be a science officer when I am _fighting for you?" _I growled. "The only reason Greyson died was because he was protecting people like you. Cowards. Who just sit on their high thrones of the science sector and watch our blood and guts get spilled all over your shiny white floors!"

Rhiannon was clawing at my hand, her eyes wide. I tightened my hand on her throat. "I didn't mean… to shoot… him." she gasped. I tightened my hands until my muscles were straining.

"ISABELLA." a voice shouted behind me. I released my grip on Rhiannon's neck and she slid to the floor, staring at me in disbelief. I whirled around and saw Spock standing there. I rushed at him, but he was expecting it. He grabbed my wrist. His Vulcan strength meant he could crush me if he wanted to. He let go, and all the anger rushed out of me. I slumped against Spock. Rhiannon climbed to her feet behind us. "Do you w-" she gestured to Greyson's still form. She reached down towards him. 'Don't. Touch. Him." I said, my voice hard. She nodded, and started towards the door. Suddenly she stopped, changed her mind, pulled out her phaser with shaking hands, and ran towards the battle going on in the distance. "Rhi-" Spock yelled, reaching after her. I stopped him. "She'll be ok," I said softly. Spock paused for a second, contemplating what to say. It occurred to me that I had never seen him lost for words. He seemed to be… choking back tears. He waited a moment, regaining his composure, before he said, "I can save him."

I stared at him in confusion. "Who?" I asked.

"Greyson. I can save him." he repeated. I glared at him, ready to punch the daylights out of his smug science-y I-can-save-everyone-with-my-astounding-intellect face. Then I weakened, the words sinking in. "Really?" I whispered. "How?"

He motioned for me to follow him. "Come with me." he said, picking up Greyson. This time, I didn't object, and followed him up to the lab.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_Bella_

I stared at Greyson's still figure, lying on the shiny white table in science lab 2. I looked away, instead staring at Spock. "What are you going to do?" I asked hoarsely.

He didn't answer. The door clicked open. Something covered by a sheet was wheeled in on a trolley. "Are you sure about this, Spock? I mean, we can't just keep doing this every time someone dies, you know," Dr McCoy's voice sounded from behind the trolley. Spock turned to Dr McCoy, handing him a syringe. He pulled the sheet off and I gasped. "Khan!" I breathed. "Y-you're-"

"Yes." Spock interrupted. "Dr McCoy, hand me the specimen." he held out his hand, and Dr McCoy gave him back the syringe filled with Khan's blood. "Dammit, Spock, how did you convince Kirk to give you permission to do this?" he grumbled. Spock whirled around. Dr McCoy's eyes widened. "You mean-"

Spock nodded. "Shh," he said, preparing the syringe.

"But… why, Spock? No one knows the rules better than you do, and you're _breaking _them. Why?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Spock paused for a moment, lost for words yet again. "I… I care about them, Leonard. That's why. They are my friends." he said softly, then turned away quickly. We stood in awkward silence for a moment, which was suddenly broken by the doors swinging open to reveal a beaten-up looking Rhiannon standing there. Her uniform was torn and bloodstained, and her eyes held defeat. She looked at Dr McCoy. "There's too many of them. We-" she stopped, seeing Greyson on the table, before she continued. "-we have to abandon ship. I'm sorry." she said softly, and left the lab. Spock spun to face us again, just as an insistent blaring siren rang out throughout the ship. He grabbed the syringe off the bench and injected it into Greyson's pale, lifeless arm. Then he turned to us. "Go," he said, motioning to Dr McCoy and me. I began to leave, and then paused. Spock remained standing at the bench. "Spock, what ab-"

He cut me off. "His vital signs should return shortly. As for me, I shall stay here."

I gasped. "No, it's not safe!" I shouted.

"It is my duty as first officer to protect this ship. I will remain here." he said forcefully. I realised that he was trying not to cry. Dr McCoy grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Spock, are you crazy!?" he yelled. "They outnumber us by the thousands! You've done all you can!"

Spock pushed him away, his eyes hard. "I shall remain here." he said, his fists clenched. "Now go!"

I shook my head. "Spock, you can't. It's- it's… _illogical." _he suddenly whirled to face me, his face contorted in anger. He grabbed my shoulder, threatening to render me unconscious. "Do… not… question… my… logic!" he forced out. He weakened, and looked down at his hand. "Please. Just go. I shall hope to re-join you soon." he said quietly. I nodded, and then looked at Greyson. "Don't worry. He's safe with me." he said, and I trusted him. I walked with Dr McCoy to the door.  
"Isabella. Leonard."

I turned around.

"Live long and prosper."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The emergency escape pod was cramped. I was squashed between Rhiannon and Dr McCoy, with the Captain trying to unsuccessfully flirt with Uhura behind us. I glanced at the empty seats next to us, where Spock and Greyson should have been, then quickly looked away. "I put my whole life's work into that ship," Scotty was grumbling to himself. "A vision of beauty, floating through warp like a majestic goddess- aye, where's Spock and that wee lad?" he said suddenly, seeing the empty seats. Kirk stood up. "Wh-where is he? They should be here!" he said, panicked.

"Spock is remaining on the ship. Greyson is with him." I said.

Kirk grabbed his communicator. "He-he can't _do _that! He's my first officer! We have to get him to come to his senses and-"

"No," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "He is remaining on the ship with Greyson."

"Never mind Greyson!" he said, holding up his hand. "He's just a red shirted trainee. He's probably dead already! But we need Spock!"

Before I could scream at him, Rhiannon, who was staring ahead blankly, snapped out of her daze. "What? Spock's still on the ship?" she said, a note of hysteria in her voice.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, SHUT UP!" Dr McCoy leapt to his feet. "It's his choice. We have to…" he drew a breath. "… respect that choice." as he said it, he pushed his hand onto the release button, and the escape pod shot off the side of the _Enterprise, _leaving it behind forever.

_**The following has been translated from Klingon because otherwise we'd have to get Uhura to translate for us. And we wouldn't want that, would we?**_

"They're all escaping!" zPUhlf said, motioning to the steady stream of escape pods leaving the ship. "Let's give them a little departing gift," he said, motioning to the line of photon missiles, waiting to be fired. I walked over there, trying to get them to fire. "How do you even…" I pressed random buttons until a mechanical voice spoke. "Self-destruct sequence initiating for 72 missiles. Please hold. 10…9…8…"

_Rhiannon _

I frantically dialled Spock on my communicator. Kirk was sitting down, staring out the window of the escape pod at the _Enterprise. _It chirped, and I held it to my ear.

"Rhiannon."

"Spock!" I shouted. "You have to get in the last escape pod!"

"No." he said calmly. "Rhiannon, it is my duty to-"

Isabella snatched the communicator off me. "Spock, are you ok? Is Greyson ok? Is-" she paused. "M-maybe the freezer somehow ruined that sample. Try another one…" she paused again, and then handed it to me. "He wants to speak to you."

I held it to my ear. There were faint explosions sounding, and Spock was hard to hear.

"Rhiannon… I have been-" the communicator crackled. "-and always shall be- your f-"

There was an earsplitting bang that rocked the escape pod. We all looked out the window just in time to see the _Enterprise, _our home, all we had ever known, explode into a thousand pieces.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_Bella_

Silence. Silence that was almost tangible hung in the air like a damp curtain of mist. Rhiannon, who was holding her communicator to her ear, let it fall to the ground with a small tinkle. Still no one said anything. I watched the pieces of the _Enterprise _break off and float aimlessly in space. If I looked really closely, I could see the long table that had been on the recreation deck on the day of the wedding. It was only yesterday, but it seemed like it had happened years ago, in another reality. Maybe it had. I couldn't imagine ever enjoying myself ever again, let alone with Greyson. Greyson, who was safe in Spock's hands. Greyson, who (okay, accidentally) sacrificed himself for me. Greyson, who would've been brought back to life, if…

"Our ship," I heard the Captain-no, he wasn't Captain anymore- say disbelievingly. Uhura give a sob. _Why wasn't I crying?_ I thought. _I've just lost Greyson twice. _But Uhura cried all the time, so it wasn't really that odd. "W-what do we do now?" Scotty said softly. "These escape pods have no engines or any form of steering on board. They were designed to be controlled from the _Enterprise." _He paused. "A small flaw, that will no doubt lead to big problems." He concluded. There was a sudden gasp, and Rhiannon, who had been staring at the remains of the _Enterprise, _not moving, with her mouth slightly open, finally spoke.

"Spock." she whispered. A single tear rolled down her face. She looked down at her blue uniform. I stared out at the fragments. It was like a twisted, cruel metaphor for our current states and futures, broken into so many pieces and lost, never to be recovered. I saw reds, yellows and blue shirts, scattered throughout the debris. Beds, the blankets floating aimlessly, never to have people sleeping in them again. Science benches, one of them used to have Greyson on it less than an hour ago. And the captain's chair, wrenched out of it's podium, floating solitarily. I gazed at all this wreckage, and broke.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Bella_

Dreams, surreal and joyful, crossed my unconscious mind. They promised me of a life full of happiness, where nothing could go wrong. People I loved, Greyson in particular, reached out to me. They held out their hands, offering eternal life. I took Greyson's outstretched hand, and he grinned his lopsided, nervous grin that I loved, leading me into a life with only him.

I lay, stretched out on the escape pod's seats, basking in the fog of blissful ignorance that the dream had left behind. Everything was just fine, I was happy, I was happy, I was-

"Isabella."

I sat up.

"We may have a way of returning to the wreckage of the _Enterprise _to salvage things." Rhiannon stood over me. Reality smashed into me, and it hurt more than being hit by a train. _Greyson is dead. Spock is dead. Our home has been destroyed._

"I don't see why you're so excited," I said. The tone of my voice surprised me. It was low, sardonic, defensive. "Seeing as you may find Spock's arm. Or his leg."

Rhiannon looked like I had slapped her. She opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"Oh! I know what you can do! If you find his severed head, you can mount it on your new cabin wall! Then you can have your darling Spock watching over you, wherever you g-" I was cut off as Dr McCoy took a sedative needle from the supplies box of the escape pod and jammed into my arm. A moment later unconsciousness claimed me and I succumbed gratefully.

I awoke to darkness. I heard hushed voices, and concentrated on what they were saying.

"… you know she didn't mean it."

"Yes, I know, but I just… I thought we were friends. And now, what with Greyson and…" the voice paused, "...and Spock, we're the only ones we have."

"Hey! What about-"

"Yes, yes! I meant metaphorically. God, Jim, sometimes I just…"

"Mhmm? Rhiannon, you seem to be forgetting that Spock was my friend too."

"I know. Forget it. I just… I wish you weren't so cruel about, you know, Greyson. He is a human being too."

I awoke once more. It was light, and we were still in the escape pod. _Of course we are, _I thought to myself. _It's not like we can just beam back to the Enterprise or something. _I sat up slowly, looking out of the window. There was something, something small in the distance, and it was heading towards our escape pod. "Um, C-captain?" I said.

"Isabella, I am no longer captain of anything. Just c-" he broke off with a gasp as he saw the Something In The Distance through the window. He pulled out a small pair of what looked like binoculars and looked at the Something through them. "It's some sort of small ship," he said, his brow furrowed as he squinted to see. "There's someone in it, umm… they've got black hair, I think, and t-OH MY GOD!" he screamed, dropping the binoculars. "Rhiannon, you really need to see this," he said softly. Rhiannon appeared behind me. Her eyes were red and puffy. She'd been crying. She took the binoculars, looked through, and then gave an even louder shriek. "Oh my-"

I snatched the binoculars off her and focused on the spacecraft. My breath caught in my throat.

It was Spock.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Rhiannon_

Colours exploded in my brain. I ran, stumbling over people, people I had known all my life but didn't even remember their names at that moment. My mind held onto one name though, its single syllable repeating itself melodically in my thoughts. Out of my mouth, not so melodically.

"SPOCK, SPOCK, SPOCK, SPOCK!" I hollered, banging my hand on the window of the escape pod. The ship, which was an escape pod like our own, came nearer and nearer, and I could make out Spock's features; the sharp curve of his eyebrows, his glossy black hair, his chocolate brown eyes. He came closer. I could see his pointy ears, the science division insignia, matching my own, on his blue shirt. He came even closer. I could see his white knuckles gripping the edge of his seat, his mouth open into a silent scream…

"He's going to collide with us!" Bones shouted. I gasped, banging on the window even harder.

"Quick! I'm sure these things have emergency steering somewhere," I heard Isabella say, rushing around the small escape pod. I looked at her coldly. "Why bother, Isabella? You can have your wish. Why don't you just let him collide with us and kill us all?" I said flatly. She stopped and turned around. "What?" she said.

"I _said-_"

"WILL YOU JUST FIND THE EMERGENCY STEERING BECAUSE HE'S ABOUT TO COLLIDE WITH US!" Bones roared and started helping Isabella press every single button on the wall. Spock was coming dangerously close to us. It would be any second now…

The close proximity alarm started beeping, a sickening, monotonous noise that just made everything so much more desperate. _It wouldn't be so bad, _I thought fleetingly. _Spock will crash into us, everyone will die, and we'll be together again. _I sat down, closed my eyes and braced for impact. Suddenly Isabella screamed, "Got it!" and the escape pod swerved violently, throwing me forwards and making my stomach churn. Spock's escape pod hurtled past, suddenly screeched to a stop, and slowly backed up until it latched onto ours. There was a hissing noise, and Spock boarded


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_Bella_

I had never been so overjoyed to see that pointy-eared bastard in my entire life. So overjoyed, in fact, that after Rhiannon had charged at him and hugged him for almost a solid minute, I too wrapped my arms awkwardly around his stiff stature. Kirk came up and patted him on the back, smiling. We all stood quietly for a moment, wrapping our heads around the fact that Spock _was _alive and _was _standing right in front of us, when Rhiannon asked the question that was on all of our lips.

"How did you survive?" she asked, staring up at him as if he was a vision, a premonition. I had a bit of trouble believing it too. I mean, he just _exploded. _I didn't take my eyes off him, in case he disappeared.

"I did, in fact, board the last _Enterprise _escape pod. I was so… angry-" he paused for a moment, his cheeks flushing green. Of course. Spock was ashamed of feeling the emotions that he always supressed with a vengeance. "-and I was watching the Klingons. I was prepared to gun down as many as I was capable of. Then I observed that one of them was tampering with the photon missiles. He had unintentionally activated the universal self-destruct. Our ship would have, I mean, _did, _get blown up. So I made a rather hasty retreat to the last escape pod. I had a bit of difficulty operating it at first, and I feared I would not get out of there alive but I made it just in time." he concluded.

A thought suddenly struck me. "W-what about Greyson?" I asked hoarsely.

Spock paused a second, looking sad, and then reverted back to his usual mask of blankness. "I am sorry," he said softly. "But Khan's blood seemed to have no effect on him. I had to leave him there."

I nodded, in a daze, and sat back down. Why was I so shocked? I already knew that he wouldn't make it back alive. I guess I was just waiting for Spock to go, "Ha, just kidding, he's in the back of my escape pod. He wants to see you." but of course he did not.

"Oh," Kirk said suddenly. "Um, about our ship…"

"Fortunately I have already informed Starfleet about our predicament. They plan to rebuild the _Enterprise _and we shall be ready to continue our 5 year mission in about 6 weeks." Spock said, a hint of a smile crossing his face. A collective cheer rose up from all the seats of the escape pod. "Now, if you would assist me in the steering of this escape pod, we should be on Earth in about 5 minutes." he said.

"I'd be glad to," Said Rhiannon, taking my hand and smiling. And at that moment, I knew everything was going to be ok.

Bones walked over to where the steering wheel was protruding from the wall.

"Right," he said, smiling. "Let's get this son of a b*tch back to Earth."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_Bella_

"Keptin on ze bridge!" Chekov's voice piped up as Captain Kirk of the _Enterprise II _entered the room. He smiled at all of us, and sat down in his chair. "Just like the old one," he said wistfully, shifting in his seat. He pressed a button on the arm curiously and grinned. "Except that this chair has a massage function!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "No doubt because of an ''anonymous'' request, I'm sure," I said sarcastically. It was his turn to smile. "Yeah, how'd you guess? I had _no idea _who did, though. He must've been a nice chap. Handsome, dashing, I'm sure. Must get a lot of ladies," he said, fluttering his eyelashes at me and Uhura. Uhura tossed her head and I laughed. "Dream on, Captain," I said, just as Spock and Rhiannon came out of the turbolift. "You have a starship to… captainify."

"Captainify is not a word, Leuitenant." Spock said, coming up behind us.

"Sorry, Mr Spock, didn't mean to offend the art of grammar," I smirked. Spock ignored me. "We are to depart in 10 minutes, Captain. I suggest that Rhiannon and the rest of the crew should resume their posts." Spock said with his usual air of logical rationality.

"That's not why we came, though, is it, Spock?" Rhiannon said, poking Spock in the arm. He looked embarrassed for a moment. "Yes. Well. Good luck to all of you." he said briskly.

"And?" Rhiannon persisted. Spock looked even more uncomfortable.

"And- thank you… for being great friends." he said, and then looked at his wrist, even though there was no watch. "Departure in 5 minutes," he said. "I must run. Goodbye."

"Break a leg," Kirk said with a grin. Spock raised his eyebrow.

"I do not understand, Captain. Why would you want to cause injury to the part of my anatomy that aids with running when-"

"It's a figure of speech, Spock," Rhiannon said, laughing. "See you guys round," she said, grinning at me before she led a confused Spock over to his post as first officer and then disappearing in the direction of the labs.

"Dammit, Jim, besides requesting new toys for your chair, could you have at least considered telling them that although I am a doctor I still like a normal sized cabin?" Bones grumbled, coming from the direction Rhiannon just went in. "I swear it was bigger in the old ship."

"Oh, Lighten up. And while we're on duty, it's _Captain._" Kirk smiled. Bones rolled his eyes and retreated to medical.

"Attention, crew, this is your captain speaking," Kirk grabbed the microphone and spoke into it. "First things first, all of you red, blue and yellow shirts, including me, are _awesome. _And no, that's not the only reason I made this announcement. I mean, I'm not irritating or anything, although _some _of you may disagree. Anyway, to honour the maiden voyage of the _Enterprise II, _we will be having a party on the recreation deck at 1900 hours. Don't get too drunk, though, you have work tomorrow. Departure will commence in 1 minute. Kirk out."

He spun round in his chair. "Sulu! Chekov! Set course to… boldly go where no man has gone before."


End file.
